Team members at the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center (NUPPC) continue to support efforts to strengthen school-based mental health across Nebraska by serving as evaluators for two new federal grants. These four-year grants were awarded and accepted by the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) from the U.S. Department of Education to address the shortage of school psychologists in high-need school districts.
The two projects aim to train 10 current educators or human service providers to be new school psychologists, offer professional development opportunities to 500 educators, fund 660 school psychologist service hours in high-need schools, credential 28 school psychologists, and offer 31 micro-credentials for school psychologists.
“These projects build on existing partnerships across Nebraska to expand the valuable ‘grow your own’ workforce development model, producing new school psychologists while also supporting existing school psychologists with professional development opportunities,” Jennifer Meek, Research Director said.
Through these projects, the NUPPC and NDE will partner with Educational Service Units (ESUs) in Central and Western Nebraska (ESU 11, ESU 13, and ESU 16). Additional partnerships include the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute, Omaha Public Schools, Douglas County Youth Center, and the High-Plains Psychology Internship Consortium.
“Ultimately, these projects help upskill our Nebraska workforce and expand support for Nebraska students with emotional and behavioral needs,” Janell Walther, Research Director said.
The two projects are expansions of NUPPC’s extensive work in school-based mental health, such as evaluating two federal grants for Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education (AWARE), a statewide Nebraska School Mental Health initiative, as well as multiple local and regional projects to build and sustain school mental health efforts in Nebraska.